Commuting, Amazon, and "Baseball"

I just made up a rule for myself that I'm sure I won't follow: If I say "more on that later" in a blog post, I must talk about it the next time I blog. So, yesterday I mentioned Chet's 16-minute commute to work. When we were told we would be moving to the DC area, we quickly learned how horrible the traffic is in the Northern VA/DC area, and that public transportation is a popular option for commuting to work. We decided Chet should utilize the great public transportation system here, and that we should live as close as possible to the Pentagon so that we could maximize our time together as a family (read: so that Ashley doesn't pull out every last hair on her head at home while Chet spends an unnecessary 1.5 hours in the car to and from work each day). Anyway, we were fortunate enough to find a home (3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms) approximately 4 miles from the Pentagon. Chet walks up the street, catches a bus, and 16 minutes later is deposited at the Pentagon. It really doesn't get any better than that. While we were searching for homes, we learned that if you live even 6+ miles away from work, and have to utilize both bus and Metro rail, or two different Metro rails, to work, you're looking at a 45-minute commute to work. Isn't that crazy?! Anyway, we are seriously thankful for this home. 

Subject change.

I received 15 e-mails from Amazon this afternoon, telling me my order(s) has shipped. Literally, 15. I'm a huge fan of their Subscribe & Save program. And now that I have three children and zero desire to take them all to the store if it can be avoided, I use Amazon more than ever. Excluding diapers and baby wipes, I can wait two shipping days for ANYTHING. No instant gratification needed here (although the one-click purchase feature on Amazon is pretty instantly gratifying...and dangerous...and two days is instant gratification compared to the olden days of the 1990s).

Anyway, I order almost everything from Amazon: diapers, baby wipes, toilet paper, floss, the kids' fruit snacks...you name it, I've probably asked Amazon to send it to me. I DO shop smart on the site though--if it's not truly a good deal, I don't buy it. I could probably pay less for the household items I mentioned above by playing the sale ad/coupon game, but I choose not to make time for that these days. My time and sanity is worth the extra money I use by shopping on Amazon.

And even though I choose what to order and everyone knows toilet paper is not an exciting thing, I swear I'm like a kid on Christmas morning come the first of the month when all of my Subscribe & Save items arrive on our doorstep. Apparently I'm still enthralled with the United States Postal Service and its competitors.

I got my hair cut today at my next-door neighbor's house. Approximately every six weeks she and several friends/neighbors choose a day and line up cut/color appointments with this woman. It's cheaper than getting your hair cut "out in town," more convenient, and therefore genius. My next-door neighbor, like Chet's commute, is also amazing. Right now Syd is with her and her daughters at a tennis lesson. Syd calls tennis "baseball."

And for those of you still with me, here are some pictures:

Chet, on his first day of work:

Syd, all bundled up to play in the snow:

Bubby: